Robert Downey, Jr., John Lennon, Barry Manilow, Melba Moore, 3 Therapists, The Penis Indiscretion, and Taylor What’s-Her-Name.
As promised, Music as Healing Power
Robert Downey, Jr AND Robert Downey, Sr.
Robert Downey, Jr. has popped up in the news a lot lately. He’s now more famous than ever with his recent Golden Globe win as well as his third Academy Award nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role,” Lewis Strauss in “Oppenheimer.” My R. D., Jr. moment occurred decades back in Los Angeles at a super health club on Santa Monica Blvd near La Brea, a World Gym, I think. We had both been sunning ourselves out back beside the Olympic sized pool that had ample lounging area to indulge ourselves after a workout. I did that often while on vacation in L. A. One afternoon, after I’d had enough, I went inside and found a place with the best lighting to shave. Downey came into the area and looked in a nearby stall while holding his nose, “There’s no paper,” he said. Why, the high-class proprietors had let the john run out of toilet tissue. “There’s no paper and my nose is running.” “Use the papers,” I suggested to him. “There is none,” he whined in a nasally voice. “The safety tissue in the wall for the seat.” His face lit up. “Oh, thank you,” he said as he grabbed a handful. “Thank you very much,” he repeated as he honked his way out the door. That’s my brush with greatness -- my big moment with Robert Downey, Jr. for which I suspect the gods gave me a good karma point or two. It never hurts to be resourceful; I say…to think outside the aaa…stall. Hi-Ho, not long after, Robert was arrested on drug charges. I always wondered if his runny nose was due to drug use but would like to give him the benefit of the doubt. A postscript to all this. I once met Downey, Sr., at a lifestyle-maven Lee Bailey’s New York-Second Avenue emporium cocktail party. I recall Daddy Downey being well-versed, quite articulate, and outspoken on politics--at the time, way over my head. But it’s a fine memory for now and those politicians he mentioned are long gone to their reward as well as Sr., himself and Lee Bailey himself.
JOHN LENNON – The Beatle as “Beatnik”
I love including John Lennon here, but what worries me more than the mention, is a reasonable fear on my part and others for Taylor What’s-Her-Name…
I have a few favorite quotes, unpretentious and universal enough that I work into conversations from time to time. One of my most loved is a lyric from the John Lennon song “Beautiful Boy,” included in his last album “Double Fantasy, that he intended for his son Sean.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans…”
“Before you cross the street / Take my hand
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
Along with my fondness of quotes, I’m also fascinated by obituaries: Obits are mostly complete entities with a beginning, middle, and end, many times filled with fascinating information in between.
Coincidently and apropos: I was particularly taken by (and angered) by the New York Times well-written, thorough, and fascinating writeup for John Lennon’s immigration lawyer, Leon Wildes, who died at 90 on January 8, 2024.
In what’s called a landmark case, when Wildes fought ferociously for John Lennon and Yoko Ono who faced deportation not to mention blatant unfair treatment.
I would like to paraphrase and appropriate as much as legally allowable from Leon Wildes New York Timesobituary. Why? Because Wildes was an iconic, prominent New York immigration lawyer who fiercely fought for John and Yoko. And because Adam Nossiter’s obituary reads like a feature film or documentary by Ken Burns. Plus, when I read it, I became incensed, that’s why. How dare they?
“From early 1972 to the fall of 1975, Mr. Wildes doggedly battled the targeting by the Nixon administration and immigration officials of Mr. Lennon, and wife, Yoko Ono, marshaling a series of legal arguments that exposed both political chicanery and a hidden U.S. immigration policy {agenda?}
“The Beatles had broken up in 1970, and Mr. Lennon and Ms. Ono moved to New York the next year. Mr. Lennon had been convicted of marijuana possession in London in 1968. That record would normally have barred him from entry, but he had obtained a waiver. The reprieve was coming to an end, and the Lennons received a deportation notice.
“’It was a very frightening moment,’ Ms. Ono said in the 2007 documentary “The U.S. vs. John Lennon.”
“Uncovering secret records through the Freedom of Information Act, Mr. Wildes showed that immigration officials, in practice, could exercise wide discretion in whom they choose to deport, a revelation that continues to resonate in immigration law…he revealed that Mr. Lennon, an antiwar activist, and a vocal critic of President Richard M. Nixon, had been singled out by the White House for political reasons.
“Mr. Wildes was ultimately vindicated in October 1975 by the stinging decision of a federal appeals court, which said that ‘the courts will not condone selective deportation based upon secret political grounds,’ and which halted the effort to kick Mr. Lennon out of the country.
“When the Lennons engaged Mr. Wildes to represent them, he had barely heard of his famous clients. In his book about the case, John Lennon vs. the USA, published by the American Bar Association in 2016, he wrote that he was vaguely aware of the Beatles—was nearly impossible not to be—but that the names of its members had escaped him.
“Mr. Lennon had publicly opposed the Vietnam War — he recorded the antiwar anthem ‘Give Peace a Chance’ in 1969 {below}— and he had been involved in protests on behalf of figures in the New Left movement, which campaigned against the war.
“Nixon administration officials feared that he had outsize influence among the young, who would be allowed to vote in greater numbers in the 1972 presidential election, the first after the voting age had been lowered to 18 from 21. In the paranoid atmosphere then prevailing in the White House, that was enough for administration officials and their allies, notably the conservative South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond, to go after Mr. Lennon.
“Their case centered on the London marijuana conviction. But the appellate court judge, Irving Kaufman, ultimately ruled that the crime was insufficient to make Mr. Lennon an ‘excludable alien.’
“The real reasons for the quixotic pursuit of Mr. Lennon, Mr. Wildes argued, lay elsewhere, as he was able to show thanks to his relentless digging through records.
“Early in 1972, Mr. Thurmond had drafted a letter recommending that Mr. Lennon be thrown out of the country, which Attorney General John N. Mitchell forwarded to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the agency then in charge of visas. Of particular concern was the fact that Mr. Lennon had performed at a rally in support of a New Left figure, the poet John Sinclair, who had been jailed on a marijuana charge.
“If Lennon’s visa is terminated it would be a strategic countermeasure,” Senator Thurmond wrote.
“Ten days later, ‘a telegram went out to all immigration offices in the United States instructing that the Lennons should not be given any extensions of their time to visit the United States,’ Mr. Wildes wrote in his book.
“For the next three years, {some reported, five} the government continued to press its case, in efforts that appeared increasingly ham-fisted as public support for Mr. Lennon and Ms. Ono grew. In letters and testimony, many of the era’s cultural celebrities spoke up for them, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Leonard Bernstein, the artist Jasper Johns and the authors John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, and Joseph Heller, as well as Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York.
“’The sole reason for deporting the Lennons was President Nixon’s desire to remove John and Yoko from the country before the 1972 election and a new, much younger electorate getting the vote,’ Mr. Wildes wrote. ‘To ensure his grip on power, any ‘dirty tricks,’ including the abusive misuse of the immigration process, were unacceptable.’
“The whole time, the F.B.I. was keeping a close watch on Mr. Lennon. ‘Surveillance reports on him ran to literally hundreds of pages,’” Mr. Wildes wrote.
“When Mr. Lennon learned of the skullduggery, he was infuriated. ‘They’re even changing their own rules because we’re peaceniks,’ he said in a television interview.
“The 1975 ruling allowed him {Lennon} to remain in the country. He was killed in front of the Dakota, the Upper West Side building where he and Ms. Ono lived, five years later.”
Wildes book, John Lennon vs. the USA, was published by the American Bar Association in 2016. The 2007 documentary, “The U.S. vs. John Lennon” is available on DVD, and Cable.
From the brilliant January 19, 2024, Adam Nossiter New York Times obituary.
And now, GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
“Two, one-two-three-four!
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Hit it - C'mon, ev'rybody's talking about
Ministers, sinisters, banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Popeyes and bye-bye, bye-byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout
Revolution, evolution, masturbation, flagellation, regulation, integrations
Meditations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Ev'rybody's talking 'bout
John & Yoko, Tim Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan,Tom Cooper
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna, Hare, Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance--Publisher: DOWNTOWN MUSIC, BMI
PRELUDE TO A FOOTNOTE CAUTIONARY TALE
Miss Taylor Swift has been stalked recently at her New York residence 30-plus times and finally the culprit has been incarcerated. Remember someone named (and I hesitate to give him more publicity,) Mr. Mark David Chapman stabbed and killed John Lennon in front of the Dakota in 1980. So, protect our “Time” magazine “Person of the Year” before some tragedy happens.
Other celebrities stalked: (shot and killed in Los Angeles) Rebecca Schaeffer; (stabbed with a hunting knife) Theresa Saldana; (gunned down) Christina Grimmie; (wants to marry and/or slash her throat from ear to ear, mental patient Robert Dewey Hoskins, Madonna.
BARRY MANILOW – HE WROTE THE SONGS AND YOU MAY HUM ALONG
I’ve been a Barry Manilow fan since his start and even kept a file on him. He’s come a long way. I never forgot when he was a jingle writer and later then would include his commercials in his live shows. I recall, he got a hot $500 outright for cowriting “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is here…” still heard today.
I first saw Barry Manilow at a Central Park Shafer’s concert in Central Park when tickets went for $2. Then, not long after, at a Broadway theater. This time the entrance fee was $12.
It’s easy to be a big fan. Brooklyn born singer-songwriter Barry Manilow has had a career that spanned seven decades with hit songs that include "Could It Be Magic," "Looks Like We Made It,” "Mandy,” "I Write the Songs,” "Can't Smile Without You," “Weekend in New England," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."
And so, I was sad to learn Manilow’s next big step, his decades-in-the-works Broadway musical, Harmony,closed on February 4, 2024. Manilow and longtime collaborator Bruce Sussman had been working on the show for more than a quarter-century.
Frequently reported in the press, for years, I followed the news stories at each rung, never missing a step, and then pulling bigtime for the guys. It was obvious: they’d worked damn hard. Believe you me, you, and the lamppost, I know how difficult it is to get something mounted. I studied screenwriting for decades with the best teachers out there. I wrote 15 screenplays; won a couple of contests, and nothing of mine was ever made into a movie.
Screenwriting Teachers: John Truby, Syd Field. Robert McKee, Vickie King, Milan Stitt, Charles Schulman, Julia Cameron, and a couple of instructors whose names I can’t remember.
Harmony, the musical, had a riveting story to tell and I thought, couldn’t miss: an early-20th-century Internationally known German sextet ran afoul of the Nazi regime. Culled from a documentary about the six internally known entertainers, The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of guys that included several Jewish members. Of course, that was unacceptable to the Nazis. Manilow had composed the music for Broadway’s version; Sussman wrote the book as well as the lyrics.
Over the years, the show had productions in San Diego, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. In 2022, there was a successful Off-Broadway production at Battery Park’s Museum of Jewish Heritage that looked promising -- filled with fondness and hope.
The Broadway production featured Chip Zien portraying a surviving member of the group, reflecting from 1988 to its history in the early 1930s. Lead producers were Ken Davenport, Sandi Moran, and Garry Kief. Warren Carlyle directed.
The show opened on Broadway at the Barrymore Theatre on November 13, 2023, and alas, received mixed reviews that didn’t help. And of course, it ran at a time when overall Broadway attendance still had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. A closing is a closing; it had played 24 previews and 96 regular performances.
The Barrymore Theater averaged 77 percent occupation, according to data released by the Broadway League, which was hardly enough to keep a show running. It was capitalized for up to $15 million and that money was not recouped.
Stats, stats, stats, money, money, money, be damned. Perhaps some powerful force will resurrect the project in the future. Stranger things have happened.
MELBA MOORE IS WRITING HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY–YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHO SHE IS NOW BUT WILL HEAR ABOUT HER SOON ENOUGH.
ARE YOU READY FOR MISS MELBA MOORE?
Melba Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill in Harlem NY in Harlem hospital, a singer professionally known as Bonnie Davis and Teddy Hill, a big band leader. Moore grew up in Harlem until age nine. It’s necessary to note, when her mother remarried, to jazz pianist Clement Leroy Moorman, her last name for a time, was Moorman. The family relocated to Newark, New Jersey. For high school, Moore/Moorman attended Newark Arts High School, graduating in ‘58. In 1970, she graduated from Montclair State College with a BA in music.
Moore began her recording career in 1967, cutting the track "Magic Touch" which was left unreleased until 1986. Later, it became a popular track on the Northern soul scene, eventually leading her to perform it live in 2009 at the Baltic Soul Weekender 3 in Germany north of Hamburg. And so to begin, in 1967, she began her performing career as character “Dionne” in the original cast of the musical Hair along with Ronnie Dyson, Paul Jabara, and Diane Keaton. Hang in, it’s important.
Moore replaced Keaton in the role of Sheila. I, Jim Fragale, who by then, had her under a four-year recording contract, shot a press release to The New York Times. The Times ran a half page on Melba Moore on a Sunday. Black and beautiful Melba Moore in the chorus replacers Hair’s blonde lead. (Please, note that.)
Coincidentally, at this time my parents made one of their only visits to New York City together. Buddy Lee Bailey was out of town and let use his kitchen. Mother and Dad shopped for and cooked up a classic Italian dinner for Melba and her then-husband-manager George Brewington, and me. Melba later, many times, referred to that afternoon.
In 1970, she won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lutiebelle in Purlie, a role she would later reprise in the 1981 television adaptation for Showtime. She would not return to Broadway until 1978 when she appeared (as Marsinah) with Eartha Kitt in Timbuktu! but left the show after a few weeks, replaced by Vanessa Shaw.
Attention: following the success of Purlie, Moore landed two big-screen film roles, and released two successful albums, 1970's I Got Love and Look What You're Doing to the Man—both produced by Jim Fragale with several of his Jim and Angelo Badalmenti songs on the lps.
Next she co-starred with actor Clifton Davis in the then-couple's own successful variety television series in 1972. Both Moore and Davis revealed that the show was canceled after its brief run when their relationship ended. When Moore's managers and accountants left her in 1973, she returned to Newark and began singing in benefit concerts. Her career picked up after she met record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins after a performance at the Apollo Theater in 1974.
Apropos of something. For a multitude of reasons, I was saddened by the passing of legendary founder of the rock group “The Band,” singer-songwriter-guitarist Robbie Robertson. Why?
1) I was fond of the group--loved every one of their cuts.
2) When I had musical-actress Melba [PURLIE and HAIR] Moore under a four-year contract, I suggested several of “The Bands” songs for us to record: “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “The Shape I’m in” “It Makes No Difference.” Moore said, No. No. No. No.
3). While I’m at it here, before The Fifth Dimension million seller, I suggested Melba record, the Bacharach-David song “One Less Bell to Answer.” I got a Flat Out, Nope! “The song sounds like a reject.”
4). Moore also refused to record the standard “God Bless the Child,” though her roots were gospel, and note, her family name was Moorman, before Moore. Mother and Dad were musically inclined and also spiritual, she said, and loved gospel music. (She changed it to Moore because there was another singer out there with a similar name.)
5) …Not to mention, I had a concept to make some campy, big band recordings—before Bette Midler was a star and Midler with Barry Manilow had great, campy luck with them. It was No. No. No. No.
6) THE KICKER: For Melba Moore, I had obtained, unilaterally, that half page article in the New York Timeswhen she was in the chorus of “Hair” -- a half page on a Sunday. (We both enjoyed a laugh--immediately the P R people of “Hair” rushed to take credit for writeup, and she knew the source of it…) By the way, Melba was one of the “Hair” actors who went nude nightly on stage… and then because or her spectacular voice, was (as reported) put in the show’s lead.
7) Melba Moore starred in a Broadway musical of “Purlie Victorious,” called “Purlie,’ and was to stop the show nightly with a song, “I Got Love.” Melba and I had two albums with me, and recorded ten of my original songs back then, some landed on, I GOT LOVE, and with the famous Richard Avedon cover, LOOK WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO THE MAN. Wiki does list the lps but does NOT give credit to the songwriters or the record producer, Jim Fragale.
8) One last tidbit about Melba Moore. I walked into a restaurant, mid-day, and Melba was having drinks with her manager and attorney, seated near the door. As I entered, she looked up and said, “There’s Jim. He tries so hard.” I don’t know exactly what she meant by that. I’ll give HER the benefit of the doubt also.
9) Sour grapes here? No. You see, I worked hard for her – for a period -- full time.
I’m sorry for her and for me that we missed multiple times/many opportunities. As John Greenleaf Whittier said, “For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” She DOES look good on my resume before the “Gentlemen’s Quarterly” double truck “Pulse” column and after the four GQ covers. .
9) The four cover stories for that magazine, Richard Gere, Hart Bochner, Christopher Reeve, and Ryan O’Neal (canned and appeared somewhere else.). I waxed poetic about that and Ryan O’Neal in my January 2024 SUBSTACK blog, (#20) which received 170+ hits on LinkedIn. We need to credit ourselves or who will? I got several reviews on the writing style in January SUBSTACK, rare praise for me. And I’m grateful I received 170 mentions on LinkedIn. SUBSTACK gives me something to get up for in the morning unless you have something better for me. I like the word grateful more than thank you. It carries more gravitas. Grateful.
“THERAPISTS OF THE STARS…
“Mildred and Bernie” is not an old-time vaudeville act, at least to most people. They were a married couple who, according to one powerful source, are credited with kick-starting the self-help revolution that’s still raging.
A mouthful here: Mildred Newman and Bernard Berkowitz were a married couple, trained psychoanalysts who, in the 1970s, treated high-profile New Yorkers while writing a self-help book with author Jean Owen, How To Be Your Own Best Friend. The tome was originally self-published in 1971 and then caught on like a Los Angeles wildfire. Recently, The New York Times credited the book with celebrating its 26th week as a best seller 50 years ago the week of January 21, 2024. Phew.
(When one looks at the math it doesn’t add up. Though I was never good at arithmetic, I say, the dates don’t pan out and maybe it doesn’t make any difference anyway?)
Before obsessing and interjecting myself into the mess, I want to reference the redoubtable New York Post: in 2018, an article in the Post attributed the 1970s self-help industry (movement?) to this very best-seller … (the entire industry?), they wrote, “the industry that happen to follow the book How To Be Your Own Best Friend.” A tall order and, if true, must be noted—yes, attention must be paid?! I loudly ask: is this slim 1970’s volume really responsible for the self-help book revolution? Cooler heads, contradict me!
How “they” say it happened: “the power of relationships…” was responsible. The married pair and writer Jean Owen, who later became a psychoanalyst herself, sold 13,000 copies when initially vanity-press-self-published. One of the Newman’s patients, Miss Nora Ephron, introduced the authors to her agent friend, Lynn Nesbit, who got the threesome a deal at Random House for an impressive $60,000 advance (How much is that in 2024 cash?) Hang in.
As the New York Time’s writer Elisabeth Egan recently wrote about the “Friend” phenomenon, “It pays to know people…” (My friend and onetime boss columnist Liz Smith used to frequently say, “It pays to be nice to people,” and she became the country’s most famous syndicated columnist for her Texas genius of being nice to the right people.) Both may be worth cultivating.
For the sake of complete honesty, I did once approach Mildred Newman about seeing her as a patient and was flatly turned down. She said, “We have too many people in common and you can’t afford me.” Read (not famous enough.). I had worked for her patients Liz Smith and Lee Bailey (he attended their group therapy sessions) was my best friend--plus I suspect I knew too much about director Joel Schumacher, another one of their patients… No sour grapes here, honest. I used to run into Mildred and Bernie at Sunday Unity religious/spiritual services at Lincoln Center presided over New Thought minister, Eric Butterworth. They were always cordial to me.
I eventually did go on to see a quasi-famous analyst for a short while, Dr. Clarence Tripp, who loved to drop names but turned out to be a little too grand for me. (Those he interjected (betrayed) in sessions, Judy Garland and Times, writer Cliff Jahr.)
I wasn’t completely comfortable with Dr. Tripp. Besides telling tales out of school – unconscionable for closers -- one time in a session he speculated about the size of my penis. I eventually left his couch none the worse for wear, tear, and care. Clarence Tripp went on to write a best seller, The Matrix. I still haven’t read it.
Back to the fascinating story at hand: “Best Friend’s” promotion asks: “What is real, lasting happiness? How does one achieve it? And why are so many people holding themselves back? At the heart of this profound, simple, ‘beautiful book’ is the wisdom {read: timeless concepts, I may add}. Mildred Newman and Bernard Berkowitz…encouraged readers to both love themselves and to confront life’s hardest truths.” {And somehow it remains so.) “A classic for more than three decades…” to Be Your Own
And now the good stuff.
Newman worked with multiple high profile clients: actress Paula Prentiss, actor Anthony Perkins, (more about him later,) actor George Segal, playwright Neil Simon, aforementioned writer-humorist Nora Ephron, syndicated columnist Liz Smith, lifestyle-cookbook writer Lee Bailey, film director, Joel Schumacher, to name a few. Mildred and hubby “Bernie” treated so many celebrities that they became were known in the press as "therapists of the stars.” The duo frequently participated in social events with their famous clients for which they were wholesale-ly roasted in the press and by other professionals. That didn’t stop them.
You just can’t make this stuff up: Newman considered herself a proponent of conversion therapy, and a news-maker approach treated Anthony “Tony” Perkins with electroshock to supposedly "cure" his homosexuality. “That ‘treatment’ prompted Perkins' famous friend and collaborator Stephen Sondheim to describe Mildred Newman to author Mark Harris as ‘completely unethical and a danger to humanity.’"
How To Be Your Own Best Friend was further described, in promotion: “…as a unique, bestselling question-and-answer guide to self-love and acceptance, two practicing psychologists…stumbled on the secret of pursuing happiness, by revealing to ourselves what we think we are striving for and what it is that keeps us from achieving our goals.”
(Know this: in the 1980s, Louise L. Hay founded a similar school of thought and built a multi-million-dollar publishing enterprise dubbed Hay House with her philosophy and affirmations: “I approve of myself. I love myself. I love and approve of myself.” Also, Television evangelist and author Joel Osteen references this concept in everylecture, in each sermon as well on all pages of his twenty-plus books.)
If you’ve had enough by now, boiled down, basically, here’s what the couple did: encouraged a healthy regard for oneself as a foundation for connecting with others and lucked out with that theory — though not a new philosophy back then (nor now), it’s a paradigm that’s being beat to death today in new self-help books.
A direct quote: from “Best Friend,” “When we compliment ourselves, the glow stays with us…”. For sure, as the beat goes on and on and on.
POSTSCRIPT: I prefer writing more about books, but space doesn’t permit that this time. I’m already trying your patience. However, several volumes have been haunting me and I’ll wax poetic about them next time: Atomic Habits, by James Clear, Avery Press. 4000 Weeks, Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. And alas, Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis, August 1996. 40 years ago, 5 million copies out there of Dr. Eric Berne’s classic. Decades later, still an eyeopener.
TO KEEP MY PROMISE -- WITH OVERKILL, BUT FASCINATING OVERKILL. Last issue, I promised to expound on music as a healing source. Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Detractors, and Doctors, I’ve discovered that the concept is way out of my league. But I want to keep my promise. A long time ago, I read somewhere that one’s life works better when he keeps his word. That philosophy rings true for me. And so to keep my agreement with you, from two sources… culled,, quoted, paraphrased First from: Psychiatry (Edgmont).
Music, Medicine, Healing… the Genome
Paraphrased from Assad Meymandi, MD, PhD, DLFAPA
“Music existed way before there was a Neolithic man to discover, enjoy, and finally describe it in musical notes and terms. The winds blowing through the trees eons ago was music. The rhythmic undulation of grass and the mesmerizing sound of Brownian motion of cytoplasm and protoplasm produced music billions of years ago. As for man-made music, archeologists and anthropologists have deciphered communications of Sumerians on the walls of their caves to have special (accents) similar to musical notes to introduce modification and modulation of sounds…
“Ancient man perceived the sound of the wind, rustling of leaves, and undulating tall grass as desirable, appealing sensations. Persuasive theories suggest that the early man’s speech, like the natural occurring sounds, was sung. Children’s conversation and communication is in rhythmic sing-song syllabic mode…
“We literally have hundreds of references to music in the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. The story of Orpheus, son of Apollo who gained access to Hades because of his beautiful and mesmerizing voice, has been dished out as folklore, musicals, and operas by numerous composers. The first Western opera, composed by Jacobo Peri and performed at 8:00 p.m., October 6, 1600, at Piti Palace in Florence, Italy, was Orpheus and Eurydice. Seven years later, in 1607, Monteverdi composed the first true opera by the same name. He introduced the formal architecture of opera, aria, and recitative, in his version. {And now}, We have enjoyed opera for more than 400 years…
The ”…Greek physicians used flutes, lyres, and zitters to heal their patients. … used vibration to aid in digestion, treat mental disturbance, and induce sleep. Aristotle, in his famous book De Anima, wrote that flute music could arouse strong emotions and purify the soul. Ancient Egyptians describe musical incantations for healing the sick.
“Researchers began to systemically study the application of music in medicine and healing near the end of the 19th century. Studies reporting the effects of music on physiological responses, such as cardiac output, respiratory rate, pulse rate, and blood pressure (BP), were originally reported by Diogel (late 1700s) of Salpetriere Hospital in Paris (the same hospital in which Princess Diana died some decades later).
“Human life is based on rhythm. Day and night, seasonal changes, and all physiological and biological functions are rhythmic. We inhale and exhale, our hearts beat in systole (contraction) and diastole (expansion or relaxation.) Sleeping, eating, menstrual cycles, walking, talking, and other, if not all, functions of life are rhythmic….
“Bernstein in his 1973 Harvard lecture series on music forwards the theory of ‘monogenesis,’ denoting that all languages spring from a single source. The prehistoric baby in the arms of his mother started to babble in rhythm and tone. The baby got hungry and exploded the word MMMm calling his mother’s attention to his hunger. This word, or sound really, is the origin of the word mom or mother, and is shared by some 300 different languages, variations of which all start with letter ‘M.’
“A UC Davis neuroscientist, Petr Janata, in a 2009 paper “The Neural Architecture of Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memories,” in Cerebral Cortex, linked medial memory to music. He discovered…the region of the brain where memories… are supported and retrieved also serves as a hub that links familiar music, memories, and emotions.
“The overworked cliché ‘music is the universal language of mankind’ begins to take meaning by looking at the word universal itself…. Besides psychoanalysis, studying history, theater, music, and opera are powerful instruments of introspection and learning about oneself…We have used music to enhance spirituality, to get closer to our maker, to unite us for a cause, to marshal us in wars, to swell us with pride, and to mourn and resolve sadness and grief.
“In the 1950s, when psychosurgery was legal in the US, experiments on the brain of death row inmates showed that stimulation of the ventral nucleus of hypothalamus by 70 millivolts of electricity would throw the subject into rage. If one played soothing classical music while stimulating this region, the patient would not show anger. Clinical experiments at Columbia Hospital in the early ‘60s showed that patients with a propensity to religious orientation and enjoyment of classical music were a third faster to respond…heal postoperative retinal detachment than those who were not.
And now the Genome Project. “The most exciting discoveries of the effect of music on brain comes with the discovery of the Genome Project and the work of Venter et al published in 2001 in the journal Science. A Japanese geneticist and musician, Susumu Ohno (1929–2000), author of the seminal work Evolution by Gene Duplication (1970), was the first to propose the hypotheses of the Barr body and human paleopolyploidy and also contributed articles to the journal Immunogenetics. Ohno observed that music is like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in repetition and development. For example, each organism’s genes are composed of strands of DNA, which are made up of four nucleotides containing the four amino acids—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. The order of these bases of repeated four is far from random. Indeed, within a gene, certain oligomers, which are short chains of bases arranged in a set sequence, frequently occur in a predictable manner.” Assad Meymandi, MD, PhD, DLFAPA
MUSIC - PART TWO - To further keep my obligation: more local this time, available, accessible: I’m sharing tidbits from “Harmony and Healing Holistic Healing.” / Culled from the work of Dr. Pierre Aurelien
“Music has been used as a form of therapy for centuries, and its healing power is still being studied today…from improving memory to increasing concentration…Music has the power to touch our souls, lift our spirits and heal…actually act as medicine?
“Whether it’s used in hospitals or hospices, music can provide comfort for those who are ill and help them cope with their illness…on a physical level by providing relaxation techniques that reduce stress levels and improve cognitive function. It also provides emotional healing by helping us express feelings of grief, fear, or sadness…
“The history of music in healthcare has shown that music can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and even chronic physical pain. Listening to calming music can help people relax and focus on the present moment… uplifting songs… can help boost our moods by increasing serotonin levels in the brain – the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating our emotions and feelings of happiness or sadness.
“Studies have also found that listening to music helps release endorphins – hormones associated with pleasure – which further reduces stress levels and may even aid in the healing process…when words fail us… help reduce anxiety and depression. Music is also known to increase serotonin levels, which helps regulate moods and promote positive thinking…For those struggling with mental health issues such as depression or anxiety, music therapy may offer an effective form of treatment…. By exploring emotions through music rather than talking about them directly, it becomes easier for patients to open up about their feelings without feeling judged or overwhelmed by negative thoughts or memories associated with the issue… restoring hope.
“Research…. suggests that certain types of music may improve cognitive function by stimulating areas in the brain related to memory recall and learning new skills faster than usual.
“Music also provides opportunities for improved communication between patients and healthcare providers or family members who may not otherwise be able to communicate effectively due to language barriers or other issues related to illness or injury…singing familiar songs together allows for shared experiences that build connections between people… Similarly, playing instruments together creates moments where both {all} parties feel heard without having verbalized their thoughts.
“…emotional healing is often accompanied by physical healing; studies have found that people who listen regularly experience improved sleep quality, lower blood pressure, reduced pain levels, and increased immune system functioning.
“Listening to music can help stimulate the brain and improve memory recall. Studies have shown that people who listen to classical music while studying are more likely to remember what they learned than those who don’t listen to any music at all… listening to certain types of music helps activate parts of the brain associated with learning and memorization…familiar songs can also trigger memories from past experiences, which may be beneficial for those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
“The rhythm and melody of certain pieces of music can help focus attention on tasks that require concentration, such as reading or writing an essay. (Instrumental tracks without lyrics are often best for this purpose since they won’t distract you with words or singing voices like vocal-based songs might do.)…
“Music has long been known for its calming effects on both body and mind, making it an ideal choice when trying to reduce stress levels in high-pressure situations such as exams or job interviews where nerves could get the better of you.
“In addition to reducing stress and anxiety levels, research suggests that listening to calming music can also help with pain management. A study conducted at a hospice facility in California showed that playing soothing instrumental pieces for end-of-life care patients resulted in decreased pain intensity ratings compared with those who did not listen to any type of musical intervention.
“Live musical visits are becoming increasingly popular for providing comfort and solace to both hospitalized patients and their families… offering an opportunity for meaningful connection through song, which can provide much-needed emotional support during difficult times spent away from home due to medical treatments or end-of-life care services…
“Whether it is used as a form of therapy or simply enjoyed for its beauty, music helps people heal by providing emotional support and improving cognitive function…heal from physical, mental, and emotional wounds. … “Music… can bring solace and joy to those facing difficult times… can help reduce pain levels, promote relaxation, improve communication skills, and provide comfort...”
“Harmony & Healing’s “Musical Memory Healing” is a powerful adjunct to traditional music therapy. Zoom visits are available for a loved one or friend at:
Harmony and Healing Holistic Healing.” / 212 East 47th Street / New York, NY 10017 –
Telephone 917-348-1176 FAX 917-464-3758 / EMAIL: dr.pierreaurelien@gmail.com
8 BARS AND OFF
I have a newfound love for Carly Simon singing American Popular standards.
THESE DAYS MY FAVORITE LISTENING STATION IS ON THE COMPUTER, “ACCU-RADIO,” AND IT’S FREE. THE CATEGORY I FAVOR IS called “POPULAR STANDARDS: ROCK VOCALISTS.”
A SONG THAT STOPS ME IN MY TRACKS EVERY TIME IS: SMILE, sung by anyone, even in the shower.
The melody was originally from the 1936 Charlie Chapman movie Modern Times, composed by Chapman with a little help of David Raksin -- inspired by the Puccini Opera Tosca. Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons weren’t added until 1954. In a further piece of good luck or wise choosing, the song was first recorded and released by Nat King Cole, in 1954. More I cannot give you.
BREAKING NEWS: Why wasn’t this story played up more on the news?
Dedicated to my beautiful and high-maintenance niece Jacquie Schirripa who loves NYC more than her warm and cozy hometown, Bridgeport, West Virginia.
In case you haven’t heard. NYC IS OFFICIALLY, NUMBER ONE
Start spreading the news, “Time Out” magazine ranked the 50 best cities in the world and New York, New York, came in at Number One. “Time Out” index surveyed more than 20,000 city dwellers, multiple respondents around the world, and its own network of editors.
Criteria: food scene, quality and affordability, culture, nightlife, how the city makes people feel. A great place to visit—also to live. Despite all the challenges, 15% of respondents said they would like to relocate to the Big Apple. We’re not surprised.
“Time Out” chose New York as the best city in the world “for its quality of life for locals and for its global appeal for visitors. The city was ranked highest by its residents, from food and drink to nightlife, culture and beauty,” the magazine explained.
While “Time Out” said some New Yorkers may “forget about what makes New York City so great as we’re rushing around and grinding on the daily,” they certainly aren’t surprised it’s the best city in the world. “We’re in its streets, restaurants, museums and theaters…surrounded by so much talent and never-ending things to do, chutzpah and resilience.”
Editor of “Time Out,” Shaye Weaver, found that people still hold NYC in high regard…it’s still the place they want to be—in New York you are always adapting, always trendsetting and always pushing the boundaries.
BIG DRAWS: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the American Museum of Natural History, and The Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim; The Museum of the City of New York (celebrating its 100-year anniversary) and many, many art galleries around town.
New York’s unparalleled theater scene with bustling Broadway and off-Broadway shows in New York’s unparalleled theater scene. Then there’s dancing at Bushwick, Brooklyn’s iconic nightclub House of Yes. And 50th anniversary of hip hop’s birth.
New York is the pizza capital of the country and too many world-renowned restaurants. Mentioning the wrong ones could start a riot. (We have our own famous Pizza Rat toting a slice of pizza ten times its size.)
New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world and about a third of New Yorkers spend half of their income on rent, according to a report from the nonprofit the Community Service Society of New York. The average rental price of an apartment is around $5,150 — 11% higher than they were in 2019. Only God knows what they might go for in 2024.
“Any day here can turn out to be completely different than what you expected. In New York, you can catch great live music on the street. You can snag a peek of celebrities living their day-to-day lives. You can happen upon the greatest sample sales and stumble upon the most delicious cuisine…”
Two other U.S. cities in The Top 20, Chicago: at No 14, and Los Angeles, No. 17. In fairness, “Resonance Consultancy’s” analyzed 270 cities ranked San Francisco the 7th best city in the world. New York City came in 3rd with them, after London and France.
The World’s 20 Best Cities In 2024
New York City
Cape Town, South Africa
Berlin, Germany
London, U.K.
Madrid, Spain
Mexico City, Mexico
Liverpool, U.K.
Tokyo, Japan
Rome, Italy
Porto, Portugal
Paris, France
Mumbai, India
Lisbon, Portugal
Chicago
Manchester, U.K.
São Paulo, Brazil
Los Angeles
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lagos
Melbourne, Australia
The worst for last. New York State ranks 7th as the worst place to retire. I’ll spare you details; the depressing facts are out there. Ideal state in which to retire? Florida. Florida is tax friendly and charges no state income tax, and no estate or inheritance taxes. I’d rather be in Philadelphia.
THE BEGINNING
Great stories to tell and recount. Very lively way to enjoy your memories.
Jim!-- What a great, fun read! What awesome experiences you have had! I love reading about them from -- your 4- year contracts to telling Robert Downey Jr where to blow his nose :) to being told you have too many people in common... so entertaining! Thanks for sharing!! And I believe you have a birthday coming up!! Happy soon-to-be birthday!!!